This research explored the application of a resilience assessment (RA) template in an Ontario community to facilitate sustainable community planning. Research and application of sustainable community planning that incorporates management of social and ecological resilience is relatively young territory that requires improved understanding and extension. The research goals were to critically examine the performance of the process used to perform the RA. This inquiry was considered a knowledge-generating evaluation that combined applied research and evaluation research to contribute to theoretical understanding and action. The RA template was field-tested using a single in-depth case study - the Town of Huntsville, Ontario. A mixture of qualitative methods was used to pilot and evaluate the RA, including: key informant interviews, online group discussions, focus groups, and secondary literature review. The process used to perform the RA was evaluated against four criteria that focused on the adequacy of data collection, participant diversity, participant empowerment, and utility for other communities. This research illuminated obstacles and shortcomings within the Resilience Alliance 2010 RA workbook and offered recommendations to improve the utility of the RA for communities and participants. The RA template tested in this thesis could be adapted for application in other communities, including small urban and rural communities and larger municipalities. The RA template would benefit from additional case study research.

Community participation is a key feature of major global health declarations and a fundamental principle of health strategies in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, the frequency with which it is espoused belies the complexities associated with its practical application. Engaging communities in primary health care programmes designed to improve their health has been identified as a major challenge. This study’s objective was to explore community members’ perspectives of participation within a health development programme. The programme chosen aimed to increase the fruit and vegetable intake of targeted population groups, including M ori, Pacific peoples, and low income earners. A qualitative instrumental case study approach was adopted to examine the programme and investigate what influenced, constrained, and sustained community participation. Data collection included fieldwork over an eighteen-month period. Two programme projects were selected as the study foci: a communityled project involving distributions of thousands of free heritage variety plants; and, instigated by health services, a project establishing community gardens. These projects provided markedly different pictures of participation occurring within the same programme. The plant distributions had widespread appeal, while the community garden faltered. Community participation fitted within a description of ‘focused social action’. Participation was motivated by needs, values, and interests. While some were personal and family based, the programme also became an imagined vehicle for addressing wider health, social justice, and environmental sustainability goals. Ongoing challenges related to defining targeted communities and groups, varying degrees and types of participation, and different perspectives of participation, especially as health sector staff worked from an equity mandate and community members spoke of equality. Programme groups established as mechanisms to foster community participation had contradictory effects, engaging some as advisors, while failing to reach communities targeted for the programme. The complexities of health sector bureaucracy both enabled and constrained the programme and community participation. This thesis provides an in-depth examination of the complexities of community participation in action, the contradictory effects of contexts enveloping programmes, and the resolve of community members. It increases our understandings of how community members perceive health programmes and community participation, which are critical factors in improving population health.

In South Africa, conservation and tourism planning that incorporate local communities, has a greater significance today than before given the historical Apartheid legacy, which marginalised the majority of the population from democratic processes and economic opportunities. Community participation in the critical facets of conservation and tourism, that is planning, decision-making and management has been an object of research discourse for a long time. Issues around sustainability, governance, employment opportunity and equity, cost and benefit-sharing, land rights, capacity-building, active participation and conflicts have received great attention from scholars throughout the world. Externally-generated (observer) views on the nature and extent of local community participation in conservation and tourism management, more often than not, fail to depict the perceptions of the local residents. Explanations tend to be more prescriptive and are forced onto the stakeholders, who are directly affected by the circumstances around them. The voice of the local residents clearly articulates their views and attitudes much more than any other external views. The goal of this research study is to investigate the perceptions of local community on their participation in wildlife conservation, ecotourism and social development and the information gathered will be used to develop a new model for enhanced private sector-community collaboration and communication for sustainability. The study interrogates factors constraining collaboration, which include organisational culture, power differentials and communication, from the perspectives of stakeholders, especially the grassroots community. It engages with the community for its views and opinions and as a result, delivers valuable criticisms of and suggestions for the improvement of the process followed. A qualitative approach was adopted. Data collection and analysis methods were identified, explained, justified and implemented. This project is a Case Study, carried out in Umkhanyakhude District of KZN, in which Phinda Game Reserve and the surrounding local communities are located. Makhasa and Mnqobokazi are situated about 30-40 kilometres north-east of Hluhluwe, on the R22 Road that links the town with Sodwana Bay. Semi-structured individual and group interviews allow the study participants to identify and describe concerns or concepts that may not have been expected or considered by the researcher Interviews are of particular importance to ensure honesty and impartiality. Documentary analysis allowed to generate inferences through objective and systematic identification of core elements of a written communication. Observation was used to capture situations of interest not readily volunteered by the participants due to notable different views among members of the particular community. The Adapted Nominal Group Technique workshop was prepared and conducted, to augment the other methods. A multi-method approach ensured the reliability of the findings and the validity of both the approaches and the data collected. The historical background of &Beyond, its philosophy and journey towards sustainable wildlife conservation, tourism and social development was discussed. It was evident that due to the proximity of Makhasa and Mnqobokazi, activities of Phinda directly affected the communities and the same applies to those of the communities in Phinda. There was an apparent need to carefully and properly manage the cultural, socio-economic, political and spatial relationships to build a common understanding about roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in a mutually beneficial manner. The findings of the study illustrates that the perceptions and attitudes of the local residents on their participation in decision-making and management of conservation, tourism and social development are important for sustainability. The understanding of land rights issues was restricted to a few. While there was general appreciation for the activities of Phinda and Africa Foundation, the participants expressed their unfulfilled expectations, concerns and also made suggestions for a way forward to prevent conflict and ensure sustainable conservation and tourism. Skewed power relations, lack of participation in decision-making, poor governance, employment opportunities and equity, lack of transparency and poor communication strategies were among the main issues raised by the participants. Constructive criticism and recommendations, together with the Bending the Curve Model could serve as a valuable community engagement framework for private sector tourism companies and private game reserves to involve and work with surrounding communities to ensure more sustainable private game reserves in the future. The study recommends the model with some concrete, practical measures adapted from ideas of collaborative theory, for sustainable development / School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences / Ph. D. (Environmental Management)

The study has established that modernisation development paradigm is currently governing the contemporary world of conventional development. Globalisation is the tool currently in use for modernisation, drummed up by the North, largely targeting the resources of the Southern hemisphere, through Structural Adjustment Programmes. Social welfare development interventions have been devised to provide safety-net for the poor, social casualities of modernisation process. The short cut has been to bail them out through relief handouts. Participatory development concept, is built on the belief that the world had the means to improve the situation of the poor through fair redistribution of wealth, technology, knowledge, and ideas accruing from modernisation. But this calls for the political will to address the issue of inequality, power imbalance and social injustice as a primary goal. Achieving economic growth and ensuring equitable distribution should, of necessity, be compatible. Participatory development approach is to be preferred as it is accommodative, open and creative, drawing heavily from life experiences of those involved. It also puts people at the centre of development process. It is a paradigm that seeks to empower people to assume full responsibility for their own development including the consequences of their decisions and actions. It has been established that management boards and staff are the main prime movers of strategic planning activities in an organisation. Strategic planning was appreciated by the organisational staff as an opportunity to converge their views and towards influencing organisational policy, a precious window of opportunity for them to participate in causing organisational change. Notably, donor partners generally played a minimal role in this regard. Ironically, community constituency played the least role in the planning activities owing to their often marginal disposition among stakeholders. The most satisfactory outcome of participatory strategic planning was the clarity in the future direction of an organisations and more refined planning with sense of collective responsibility. It can authoritatively be declared here that participatory strategic planning is significantly efficacious as a tool for organisation building, but under certain conditions discussed in the concluding Chapter of the thesis. / Development Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (Development Studies)

The central issue of this study revolves around public participation in the making and implementation of policy in Mauritius, particularly at the Port Louis’ local government. Public participation is regarded as one of the milestones of democracy and local governance. Local government provides an ideal forum for allowing participatory democracy to flourish as it is closest to the inhabitants. The question of what are the levels of public participation in the making and implementation of policy in Mauritius with reference to the Port Louis’ local government formed the core element of the problem statement of the thesis. Following this, the hypothesis is stated. Attention is devoted on the four objectives of the research questions: What are the key concepts that relate to public participation in the making and implementation of policy at local government level; what impact does the Constitution of the Republic of Mauritius Amendment, 2003 (Act 124 of 2003) and the New Local Government Act, 2005 (Act 23 of 2005) have on public participation in the making and implementation of policy in Mauritius, particularly at the Port Louis’ local government and what modes of public participation are used in the making and implementation of policy at the Port Louis’ local government; and what are the main factors that influence public participation in the making and implementation of policy at the Port Louis’ local government? Within the thesis, the research findings obtained from the questionnaire; and the interviews are analysed and interpreted. Ultimately, in view of the arguments presented in this thesis an attempt was made to provide some recommendations on public participation in the making and implementation of policy in Mauritius, particularly at the Port Louis’ local government. / Public Administration / D.P.A)

Since 1994 a number of health reforms took place in furthering democracy. These changes included the decentralisation of Primary Health Care Services. This study is a phenomenological research that chronicles the Primary Health Care decentralisation experiences in the Bophirima District of the North-West Province. Using a descriptive phenomenological orientation, the purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of participants associated with decentralisation in the Bophirima District. Also, to illustrate how the participants perceive these experiences in relation to Primary Health Care services. Furthermore, to provide scientific evidence regarding factors related to the decentralisation of PHC services in the Bophirima District. These and other issues remain of paramount importance given the current state of health care in the South Africa. This study took place in the outskirts of the semi-rural area of Bophirima and Central District in the North-West Province. The investigation followed qualitative research design that was descriptive, exploratory, contextual and phenomenological in nature. The sampling procedure involved non-probability purposive, sampling technique with a sample size of five participants. Data was collected by using an unstructured interview technique. The modified Giorgi method of analysis was used for qualitative data analysis. These are contained in Burns and Grove (2001:596) and Polit and Beck (2004:394) are fully explicated in Chapter Four. Guba model (in Babbie & Mouton, 2001:180) was utilised to ensure the trustworthiness of the study. Ethical requirements were considered throughout and these are reflected in chapter four of the thesis.Three forms of decentralisation: deconcentration, delegation and devolution were identified in the findings. The investigation further indicated that the integration of primary health care services was also underway at the time of decentralisation. This integration triggered different psychological and emotional states amongst research participants. Most importantly, the research revealed that the interest of leadership across three spheres of government played a key role in the decentralisation of PHCs and integration of PHCs, while highlighting the importance of community participation in health service delivery (CP). In conclusion, the decentralisation process was generally perceived as empowering although, nationally, leadership needs to be strengthened to support provinces and districts regarding major policy issues such decentralisation. Key recommendations were made and further research was suggested. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

The poor quality of state controlled black education in South Africa in the past was mainly caused by low pupil per capita expenditure and poor teaching. This resulted in many problems. Because of past neglect, as well as the increase in number of children to be educated, black education must be revitalised. Government funding is not adequate, therefore, privatisation and semi-privatisation of education is a recommended solution. Community and business involvement is encouraged, and state control should be reduced. Short-term strategies have been fairly successfully implemented. With a view to proposing strategies for the upliftment of black education, the upgrading of teachers through improved INSET and PRESET Q!_Qfil_~mmes is considered a priority. Already implemented models, such as Promat, TOPS and the Molteno Project should be investigated. These programmes have been successful to varying degrees. Strategies have been proposed based on the above findings and guidelines for further research suggested. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Comparative Education)

Allowing communities to become integral players in curriculum implementation conversation has not been taken seriously by academics and the educational leaders. Generally, there is a growing realisation in academic circles that knowledge and skills in primary school education cannot be solely owned by school heads and teachers for effective curriculum implementation to be realised. School heads and teachers need pedagogical support from members of the community around their primary schools who have the knowledge and skills that teachers can make use of in teaching and learning. Current curriculum implementation practices have seen community members as peripheral players whose knowledge and skills are of diminished value. The purpose of this study was to explore how community members’ knowledge and skills could be harnessed in curriculum implementation at primary school level in Zimbabwe’s Chivi district of Masvingo. The notion was to grow a partnership between community members, school heads and teachers. The study was informed by the Social Capital Theory, a theory devoted to the establishment of social networks, links and social relations among individuals and groups for the realisation of new ways of co-operation. The qualitative case study design was employed, where individual interviews, focus group discussions and open-ended questionnaires were the data-collection instruments. Four rural primary schools with their respective school heads, were randomly selected to participate in the study. Twenty teachers, two traditional leaders, two church leaders, two business people and eight parents comprised the purposefully selected participants. The study findings indicated that community members and the school community have not meaningfully engaged each other in curriculum implementation. The barriers to a successful relationship included: the language of education, feelings of inadequacy, time constraints, and the polarised political environment. Evaluated against the social capital theory, participants appreciated the need for partnerships in curriculum implementation for shared resources, knowledge and skills for the benefit of the learners. The study recommends a rethink by school heads, teachers and community members, aided by government policy to create space for community contribution in curriculum implementation. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The purpose of the study was to assess Challenges of and Opportunities for Implementing the School improvement Programme in the Public secondary Schools of Iluababor administrative zone in Ethiopia. In the study a mixed research methodology was employed, specifically the sequential explanatory designs with a high priority on the quantitative and the sequential exploratory design and with less priority on the qualitative data. Out of 24 secondary schools, 12 secondary schools were selected by random sampling from six geographically clustered secondary schools. In the study (out of a total of 540 sample populations, 287 research participants were selected by random sampling/lottery method, 220 male and 67 female) were participated to fill the questionnaires. For interviews from six clusters (12 school principals, 12 district education experts, six secondary supervisors and four zone education experts) were selected by purposeful sampling to participate in the interviews sessions. Whereas, for focus group discussions ( 21 parent teachers‟ association (PTA) members; and 21 members of student councils) were as well selected by the purposeful sampling technique from three clustered geographical locations of the schools respectively. The collected data was analysed using statistical programme for social science software (SPSS) version 21. To analyse the data from questionnaires, descriptive statistical analysis like frequencies, percentile, mean values, and standard deviation were used. While, qualitative data generated from interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis were transcribed, coded and interpreted thematically. The findings indicated that with regards to the quantitative data analysis, the performances of the school improvement programme aggregate of the four domains summary of the mean values and standard deviations 287 (Mean = 2.82; SD = 0.74) showed that the indicators of practices among the school improvement programme domains were low in performance. The qualitative results as well confirmed the quantitative results. In this case, the mean value was above average and the standard deviation value was more tightly clustered around the mean. This means that the results were concurrent of each other and thus reliable. The findings revealed that, even though secondary schools put a lot of effort towards averting the challenges in school improvement, it could hardly bear fruit due to insufficient supplies of inputs and processes. This resulted in the school improvement programme performances lagging behind the set goals and targets. Additionally, the findings indicated that the major challenges in the implementation of the school improvement programme in secondary schools (9-10) were: weak collaboration among stakeholders, lack of capacity building, inefficient administrative services, limited commitment of school leadership and school governing bodies, poor school leadership and management, passive and inactive involvement of parents and local community, and, in the academic affairs, students were not successful in terms of attendance and the achievement of learners. Based on the findings, it is recommended that school principals, teachers, administrative staff, students, parents and local school communities be well equipped with basic knowledge and skills on the school improvement programme. This could help in fostering critical thinking and the problem solving capacity of the learners. In addition, school principals and the school governing bodies have to apply the recommended strategies in the study so as to alleviate the challenges in (grades 9-10) secondary schools. Above and beyond, the study suggested that in order to get better learners achievement, a strong team spirit should be established among school principals, secondary school supervisors, teachers, students, parents and local communities, and by expanding capacity building networks within the coming five years. Consequently, the schools management teams and other stakeholders of secondary schools (9-10) have to plan for continuous training and orientation on the nature, practice and significance of school improvement programme implementation. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Sustainability of biophysical soil and water conservation measures undertaken on communal land remains a challenge. This research was conducted in the two watersheds of Legambo district, Ethiopia, using a conservation project implemented as disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change. The study examined relevance and appropriateness of conservation measures and identified factors affecting sustainability. Findings show that population growth is high and crop production is the major source of income for all households. Crop income levels varied significantly (P<<0.01) with wealth status of households. Droughts, floods, crop diseases and frost are hazards that frequently occur in the area. Some conservation measures implemented were considered by communities as inappropriate. Low community participation, poor planning and unclear objectives and use rights, weak enforcement of by-laws and lack of maintenance of structures are the major challenges. Integrating family planning, enhancing participation of women, clarifying responsibilities and benefit sharing arrangements, enforcement of rules and building capacity are suggested to improve effectiveness and sustainability of conservation measures / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)